Come Join The Blogging Elite...We Have Glitter!

As I mentioned last week, I have tons of goals for the new year, and one of my blog goals was to create a blog group, and I'm pumped to say that it's officially live!

The Beginning

Way back in November, I asked my blog friend, Nina, if she would be willing to help out with creating a blog group. I knew I couldn't do it alone, and Nina and I vibe on so many things (interracial relationships, Harry Potter, etc. etc.) that I knew she would be the perfect person to work with. We had previously been in a blog group together way back when, and then the person running the group just kind of shut it down without telling anyone, and I was sad because a lot of my favorite bloggers were in the group, and I hadn't followed them properly (sorry, I suck). Thus, The Blogging Elite was born.

What can you find in The Blogging Elite?

I'm part of a few blog communities, and they each have their own problems, but they also have elements that I love! I took the elements that I love, and mashed them together to make this awesome group, plus added a few features that Nina and I brainstormed on over the past two months. Here are a few things you'll find in The Blogging Elite:

// Daily engagement threads

In most of the blog groups I'm in, there is a place for you to share your latest blog post. Simple, easy, and duh, we want that, but what about everything else? What about Facebook and Twitter? We want all of the things we're putting out there to get some love, not just our blog posts. In The Blogging Elite, you'll find daily threads for engagement on blog posts, Facebook posts, tweets, Instagram posts, and pins.

// Daily follow threads

I want The Blogging Elite to be a place of discovery. Whether you're a newbie or a seasoned blogger, there's tons of blogs and bloggers to connect with and so many different ways to do so. That's why, every day, we'll bring you a follow thread where you'll be able to share your social media pages and discover other elite bloggers like yourself.

// Monthly themed giveaways

Giveaways are a great way to gain exposure for your blog and give something back to your readers. Every month, Nina and I will host a themed giveaway, and only members of The Blogging Elite will get to co-host with us.

// Weekly prompts

Do you want to learn how to monetize your blog? Do you want to find someone who's a crazy dog lady like you? Do you want to know what shows to watch next on Netflix? Each week, we will ask members of The Blogging Elite a question where they can share information and meet like-minded people. We want to get the conversation going and help our members learn more about each other, discover new blogs, and make friends.

// Birthday and blogiversary recognition

Birthdays and blogiversaries are two very vital dates on every blogger's calendar. In The Blogging Elite, you can share your birthday and blogiversary, and we will celebrate the momentous occasion with you. Organizing a giveaway? The Blogging Elite is the perfect avenue for you to find co-hosts!

// A collaborative Pinterest board

Pinterest is pretty vital when it comes to blogging, which is why we wanted to make it an important part of The Blogging Elite. Become a member of our collaborative Pinterest board, and you can discover new content as well as share content of your own!

// A sense of community

The blogging world can be a lonely place when you're just starting out. We want to help bloggers meet new people, make new friends, and grow their blogs. We want The Blogging Elite to be your safe haven to speak your mind and just be you!

So excited to join! I love a good blogging support group! :) (P.S. I was in that same blogging group you mentioned above that suddenly shut down. One minute, the remaining admin was calling for new admins, and then, when I logged on the next day, the group was nowhere to be found!!)

Yay! This makes me so happy, Kirsten! I hope The Blogging Elite will be a great source for you to find some blogs to fall in love with and make some great connections! We're really excited to have you!

This is exciting! I've joined a few blogging committees and they're either inactive or (sadly) used to promote blogs rather than actual being a community. I'm checking it out now and grabbing that cute Blogging Elite button!

Yayayay for us! We are awesome and blogging twins. Maybe I should figure out how to add glitter to our buttons? Also, you don't suck. Life is hard and blogging is hard. But if you suck, then I suck too because I never read blogs unless I am part of a group. Thankfully now we are part of one! I'm excited to do this blogging journey with such an awesome blogger as yourself! Also, I must ask: do you take all the photos for your blog, or do you use a stock photo site? I remember you commented on a discussion about stock photos on that group we used to be a part of. Will you send me links to stock photo sites you use?

Yay! I'm really excited to see how this group grows. There are so many awesome bloggers out there, and communities help me find new blogs to fall in love with. I hope you enjoy being part of the group!

I can't imagine running this group with anyone else. I'm so excited that you were on board!

A lot of the photos I use are stock photos, but now that I have a better camera, I want to go explore and take some stock photos of my own. I wrote a round-up post of the sites I use most often to find stock photos (I definitely recommend signing up for the email lists because I get the prettiest ones from there. And the ones I use most are Pixabay, PicJumbo, Unsplash, and PhotoPin): http://www.endlessblissblog.com/2014/10/the-ultimate-source-for-awesome-stock.html

I love this idea! :D I love the blogging community, it's definitely been a great way to discover awesome new-to-me blogs! I like that there'll be an emphasis on that in this one! Super excited for it! :]

I've been in lots of different blog groups, and you can tell which groups are genuinely interested in discovering new blogs and which ones are just for the numbers. I'm hoping The Blogging Elite becomes an awesome blog community.

Ah! I'd love to join your group!! I love your blog and can't wait to learn more from you!! Now.. I'm yet to figure out how to put the group buttons on my blog. I use blogger and can't figure it out haha

Yay yay yay! I'm so excited to have you join The Blogging Elite! It's gonna be a fun time :)

To add buttons, you just have to the Blogger dashboard and click on "Layout." Then click "Add a gadget" and scroll down and choose "HTML/Java Script," and in that section, you just paste the code above. Then you can move "gadget" anywhere on your sidebar just by dragging it in the "Layout" section. If you need a different size, let me know!

Totally unrelated to this post, but I saw on your 30 Before 30 list that going to a horse race was on your list! If you happen to go anywhere before the end of June this year and it happens to be in Kentucky...LEMME KNOW! I've been meaning to go to one since I feel like it's a disgrace for me to say I've lived in KY and haven't been to one! :P

Welcome to the blogging world! Joining a blog community is a great way to make some new friends and discover new blogs! The group is on Facebook, so all you have to do is have a Facebook account, and you can go to this site and ask to join the group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebloggingelite/

I've "met" some of my favorite bloggers through blogging networks and communities, and I wish I would have joined some awesome communities sooner! I'm so excited to have you as part of The Blogging Elite, and I hope you meet some awesome bloggers within the group!

This sounds great and I can tell just in your wording that it WILL be. I am having trouble getting my blog going but mainly because of indecision. Having other bloggers to talk to and bounce ideas off of would make everything SO much easier! I haven't started posting yet (just settled on a theme and bought my domain) so I haven't had a chance to make other blogging friends yet. I'm in. I want this to succeed so if you need any help with anything please let me know what I can do! The more involved I am with a community, the more it will help me get my stuff done as well.

Thanks so much, Eve. Having a blog community is so awesome, and it's amazing that you're starting off with one! I wish I hadn't waited to so long to find bloggers who could help me along the way. Good luck with your start and let me know if I can help in any way! I'd be more than happy to!

I keep getting stuck on customizing my design to the point where I'm not moving forward! I have a good idea of what I want but I'm torn on the landing page. My theme came with a few different template options including use of Soliloquy Slider but I need an opinion! The part I am unsure of with using a grid or slider front page is having no sidebar and therefore no typical front page "about me" right away, only a link to the "about" in the navigation bar. Do you think having that sidebar/about blurb present is more important than having a landing page or maybe another idea I didn't think of? Thanks ;)

Blog design is always tough! When I first started blogging, I was changing my design every couple of weeks. Luckily (or maybe not luckily?), I didn't have too many followers yet, so no one got annoyed by me making all of the changes. As far as your template, I think it just depends on your preference! If I could have a slider, I would definitely opt for it. I have just always loved the look of it because it's so different. I can understand what you mean about not having a typical sidebar though. I think as long as things are easy to find on your blog, you should be fine. This is also another option: http://www.lushtoblush.com/She has a grid at the top but also a sidebar a little further down.

Hey Tiff (and fellow glittery Elite loves)! Let me know if I should move this over to the facebook, I just happen to use Disqus a lot more since facebook distracts me but will do if its easier. I just wanted to say I finally settled on my logo and figured out my whole branding image. It hit me a few days ago while staring at a blank picmonkey that I was working too hard on going for a "look" rather than just branding my natural personality. I went through photos of all my art from before I started making a blog and found I already had a look without knowing. So my blog is getting close to done and I'm so excited! I have never planned a launch before but would love to invite everyone to be a part of it (everyone in this community is VIP for the launch party!) I'm open to any tips/suggestions and also wanted to ask if everyone is basically the sole owner of their blog or does anyone here work with a partner? I was thinking about how I wanted my blog to be a collective of different personalities and talents but don't know if a blog is too personal of a project to share and if I should just do guest posts instead or... well, whats your opinions?

Alsooo, trying to hunt down and find ALL my accounts across the web and switch my name back to my regular ole' birth name before launching the blog. So if you're used to Eve and see Christie Melissa, Christie Bunny, Christie Watkins or some variation, thats me. If any of you are familiar with shadow work or magick, Eve is a name I gave to my "shadow self". Lately I've felt it does more harm than good.

Hi Christie! It's awesome that you're working diligently on creating a brand for yourself! I think you're right in saying that you most likely had already been branding yourself naturally, which is awesome! And yay for launches! I think that'll be a lot of fun.

For me, I'm the sole owner of my blog, and I accept guest posts as needed, such as if I'm going out of town or if I have something coming up where I know I'm going to be busy. Otherwise, my blog is just mine. I do know other bloggers that have started blogs with other people, and I think if you're wanting it to be more collective, then the people you want to be involved should be involved from the beginning so that everyone will have a voice. Otherwise, I think having you be the sole owner of and writer for your blog while accepting a few guest posts will be your best bet. There are lots of successful blogs that do have collective opinions and such, and the only one I can think of right now is Lauren Conrad's blog, which is very different because she started as a TV personality, but you can still use her as an example: www.laurenconrad.com

I'm sure other people in the group may have other opinions, and you're welcome to post it there too if you'd like!

This sounds awesome! I'm in several blogging groups and also have my own group, but always looking for more ways to connect with other bloggers. Thanks for putting this together and I will be joining you on your journey! (love your blog, btw!) #NYNB

I love blog groups! It's so fun to connect with bloggers in different niches and discover blogs I may not have discovered otherwise. Thanks so much for your sweet words, and yay for #NYNB! I'm really excited about that too.